Peoria RC Modelers Newsletter

ARTICLE OF THE MONTH

PARTICULARS AMA Charter 331 Website: peoriarcmodelers.com PRESIDENT:

Joe “The Fantastic Languini” Lang joe.a.lang@comcast.net

VICE PRESIDENT:

Jon “Dew Drop” Dewey dew6483@yahoo.com

SEC/TREAS & FACEBOOK:

Jim “Smokin-Jimmy” Fassino Fassino@me.com

SAFETY:

John “Gipetto” Hoelsche johnhoelscher@comcast.net

WEBMASTER:

Terry “The Flamer” Beachler terry@beachlers.com

MAINTENANCE & GROUNDS Roger “Pod Man” Stegall rogerstegall@hotmail.com EDITOR:

Bob “The Great Wilsoni” Wilson wilsorc@gmail.com

AMA CONTEST DIRECTORS: Bob Wilson, Jim Hogan, Jim Fassino

Flying Field Location The flying field is located off Old Galena Road, ½ mile north of the Caterpillar Technical Center on the west side of the road.

GPS Location: N40 51.844’ W89 33.788’ Flying Hours Flying hours are 8am until dusk, Monday thru Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Macchi MC72

I've never been a float plane/seaplane fan but there is one group of airplanes that, I think, were the prettiest aircraft ever made. These are the series of Schneider Cup aircraft designed by Mario Castoldi for Aeronautica Macchi.

The MC 72 pictured above is the culmination of all previous designs and features contra-rotating propellers powered by a Fiat AS-6, V24 engine.

This puppy was supercharged and put out about 3,000 hp!

On the 23rd of October, 1934, pilot and warrant officer Francesco Agello climbed into the MC72 and set a world speed record of 440 mph.

This record lasted for 5 years. In 1939 the world speed record was finally passed by a German Heinkel 100 at 463 mph.

Membership Club dues are $95/year if paid before January first, $105 thereafter.

All members must belong to the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA).

General We are committed to having fun and the safe operation of model aircraft. The Peoria RC Modelers is an equal opportunity, not-forprofit organization and welcomes all new members.

Flight Instruction The Peoria RC Modelers offers flight instruction as a free service to anyone requesting it. Contact a club officer for further information.

“Courage

is what it takes to stand up and speak out against what is wrong; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen to the truth."- Winston Churchill

Heinkel 100

This was quickly passed by a German Messerschmit 209 which increased the speed to 469 mph.

Messerschmitt 209

The current world record for a piston engine aircraft is held by a highly modified Grumman F8F Bearcat we all know as “Rare Bear”. Its speed...528.33 mph!

The picture below shows the Top Gun award plaque that was awarded to Jim “White Man” White at our year-end banquet. Jim and his ever faithful companion, Maddy blew away the 2012 combat competition with consistent stealth, trickery and questionable flying skills.

Grumman F8F Bearcat “Rare Bear”

Finally, and what is really amazing, is that the Macchi MC72 still holds the world speed record (440 mph) for piston engined powered seaplanes to this day.

Unfortunately, Jim and Maddy have moved to the Detroit area where they proved to be the critical vote in changing that state to Right-To-Work status.

2013 promises to be an even more busy combat year. Several fliers new to the event have already procured combat equipment and are talking "Smack" concerning their flying prowess and would-be claims to the 2013 Top Gun award. Most recently, Tom Imhoff finished 2nd at the E-Fest full-contact combat event, using a very fast flying wing. It will be interesting to see if this same wing can be successful at dissecting ribbons at an outdoor environment where the sky is the limit and most other competitors have their motors on the front of their planes.

they usually came after the aircraft was completed." I would bet that our very own Bob "Wedell" Wilson never uses plans to builds his racers. If just a little chalk was good enough for old Wedell then it has to be good enough for the Great Wilsoni.

A combat competitor hovers at 12:00 high waiting to pounce on an unsuspecting rival.

The rules for combat this year remain unchanged: (1) Three 4-minute heats will be flown each contest day with all pilots participating in each heat (2) Three points will be awarded for each cut streamer (3) Any pilot who has his/her streamer cut must immediately land, no additional points for the heat are possible but points gained prior to the cut streamer will be kept for scoring purposes (4) Each pilot who flies the entire 4-minute heat without landing or having a cut ribbon will be awarded 1-point for the heat (5) If a heat progresses until there is only one pilot with an uncut streamer, that pilot can land prior to the end of the 4-minute heat and still receive the 1point for completing the heat with an uncut streamer (6) A 1-minute count-down will be given prior to the start of each combat event.

Roger Stegall

THE VEEP SPEAKS Our No Fear Pylon racing is just around the corner. As we all prepare for another season I thought I would write about one of the greatest and least know of the early air racers.

Jim Wedell was a seat of the pants designer, engineer, builder and pilot. He "was known to have laid out his designs with chalk marks on the hangar floor. If blue prints were involved

Jim Wedell teamed up with a Louisiana millionaire named Harry Williams and became known as the Wedell-Williams Corporation. yet another great "pair" was born into aviation, just like Orville and Wilbur, McDonald and Douglas and, of course, Roger and Vern.

Between 1930-1932, Jim Wedell designed and built his Model .44, so named after the high powered pistol. At the 1933 Chicago International Air Races, the Model .44 broke the world speed record, topping out at 305.5 MPH.

The awards and attention meant a lot to friends and family back in Patterson, Louisiana. Today there is a museum which tells the story of the Wedell – Williams days of glory. Jim Hogan recently visited the museum on his way to Florida and says it is "well worth the trip."

I am sure we all would have heard more about Jim Wedell and his brother Walter in our history books if they wouldn't have loved women as much as they did aviation. In July 1935 tragedy struck when Walter Wedell and a passenger were killed in a plane crash. It took several days to locate the wreckage because he was flying in the opposite direction and at least 20 miles of course from what was called for in his flight plan. When the crash site was located, they found the female passenger in Walters lap both strapped into the pilots seat,

indicating Walter was not even at the controls of the doomed aircraft. It just goes to show you that being a member of the "Mile High Club" does not always turn out well.

Troy Built Models has an 88" wing span ARF of the Model .44. It requires a 45 - 60cc gas engine. I am sure this would be one very nice airplane and I would love to see it at our field!

Maybe Santa will remember me next Christmas when he reads this newsletter.

JON dEWEY

As of the March meeting night we will have exactly 53 days until the first race on April 27 th!

Are you ready? Are you psyched? Get pumped!

Peoria so he can compete in this year's “No Fear” event. Well, not really. He's moving to Peoria for other reasons, but we can lie a bit.

There is even hope that the “Chummers”, Bryan and Nick Chumbley, will enter the racing fray this year.

Nick bought a Four Star kit and really tore into it...but then...he bought a motorcycle...and, well, you know which one suffered. Bryan, on the other hand, is looking hard at one of the World Models ARF's. Let's hope, both the Chummers will be great competitors.

Joe Board is talking tough and he is such a phenomenal indoor pilot, he undoubtedly will be tough to beat.

Joe Lang and “Dew Drop” Dewey are sawing off the outer bay of their Four Star Wings.

Scott Ferguson will toe the line with his Four Star, “Fergasaurus Rex”.

Don “Fly low and fast” Stedman will be competing as soon as he removes the corn tassels from his landing gear.

No word on what “Gorgeous George” Knight will be flying after his disastrous mid air with Fassino's “Pink Flamingo” last year.

Terry Beachler says he is ready to hit the racing circuit hard with his restored “Green Weenie”.

Two competitors fight for the lead at last year's event

I hear talk that we will have some new contestants this year. Kerry “Crash” Delvechio for sure has a new World Models racer. Mark Kiefer is finishing up a Four Star and Jim Fassino has replaced the destroyed “Pink Flamingo” with a World Models LA 40 Racer.

Roger “Pod Man” Stegall has added a World Models Skyraider MK II to his hanger and his son, Thomas Stegall is talking of moving to

John “Gipetto” Hoelscher is “feeling good and feeling mean” and will probably update his Four Star with a World Models airplane.

“Hollywood” Hogey Hoganowski, all rested and tanned from his lengthy Florida vacation, will be there as well.

Glen “Unabomber” Howard is always competitive. However, he will be protesting this year's races because the airplanes don't actually “go around” the pylons. What's new, he makes the same protest every year.

Maybe, just maybe we'll see Greg Pringle this year along with his “Pringle Star” racer. That is, if the aliens who kidnapped him for the last two years release him from bondage.

Unknown drone aircraft streaks toward the active race site and releases a projectile.

And finally, there's Tommy “Cutter” Imhoff.

Always a tough competitor and the nemesis of “The Great Wilsoni”.

Jim Fassino's tremendous video shows just how “The Great Wilsoni” beat “Cutter” Imhoff in 2012. If you get the chance go to our Facebook site and watch the video.

Here is a preview.

Pylon racer, Tommy Imhoff, is unaware of the drone.

Only at the last moment does Imhoff see the fiery trail from the drone's missle.

No more Tommy Imhoff. The Great Wilsoni wins!

Bob Wilson

What's wrong with these pictures???

Needing inspiration for this months article I looked at our club web site and read some of the older newsletters. I thought several items were worth reporting on, so here goes.

From the February 2004 edition: “On The Building Board - ......I’ve heard that there’s a definite lack of progress on the Jeep in the RC Wilson hanger. Guess we’ll have to see that Extra for another 300 flights.”

Update...2013 this airplane is still a work in progress.

The pilot in this photo (the guy on the right) looks like he got completely disoriented and froze up. You will note that they are standing in front of the pilot protection screens. A real nono!

The big B25 with twin gassers could have done some real damage to the poor schmuck on the left. Luckily, no one was hurt. The airplane, however, was completely destroyed.

Stay behind the pilot screens!

The “Jeep,” the ultimate hanger queen, as it currently hangs in repose.

March 2004 Edition: Dues were $75, a club web site was created by member Tauseef Tahir, Wes Miller President, Mike Lusher Vice President, Dave Olson Secretary/Treasurer and Kerry Del Vecchio Newsletter Editor.

August 2004 Edition: Dues were increase to $100 for members and $125 for new members and there was a new $25 penalty for late payment of dues. For the third month in a row there was talk about enclosing the shelter.

December 2004 Edition: The club voted to ban the flying helicopters at the December meeting. There was talk about starting a Sig 4 Star 40 racing program.

Newsletter Editor DelVecchio questioned the banning of helicopters in his editorial and said he would voice his objection at the next club meeting. The ban was lifted at the January 2005 meeting.

Well that was the year 2004 at Peoria RC Modelers!

2013 Banquet It was great to have family members at the annual banquet.

The Alexander Street Steakhouse did a nice job with food and beverage and Joe and Jon had a nice evening for the members and their families. It is always nice for the ladies to get roses and to thank them for letting us play with things that fly never hurts.

VP Jon Dewey handing out roses to the ladies.

Thank Joe and Jon for an enjoyable evening and thanks to the members that attended and made the event special for the award winners.

Congratulations to Vern and Bob.

Jim Fassino did an outstanding job on the slide show this year. Unfortunately, the equipment at Alexanders didn't cooperate.

Club Meetings Just a reminder that the club meets the first Tuesday every month to conduct club business. If you want your voice heard then you need to attend and participate in club meetings. We typically have about 15 to 20 members attend but that means on average less than half of the members are at the monthly club meetings. Club meetings usually last less than an hour and its an opportunity to talk about business but also airplanes. I hope to see you at the March club meeting, its your club.

Jim Fassino

always entertaining test flights, resulted in him receiving an overwhelming vote for this year’s award. Keep ‘em coming in 2013 Vern!

Verne Holeman receives the “Modeler of the Year award.

‘Glow Plug Award’ – Bob Wilson’s efforts to get pylon racing up and running again as an intra-club activity has generated a great amount of energy and involvement – and earned him top vote for the Glow Plug Award. His plans for 2013 are going to make it even bigger and better. Thanks Bob!

Thanks to all who braved the first real snow of the year and attended our Annual Banquet on February 21st.

‘Pylon Racing Champion’ – For accumulating the most racing points in the 2012 season, Bob Wilson walked away with this award. I am not sure, but I think trash talking may have helped…. ;-)

Bob Wilson receives the Glow Plug award.

Cooking steaks, potatoes and Texas toast at the banquet.

We had a good number of members and family which made for a very nice evening. After dinner, our version of the Oscar’s commenced and we recognized the following award winners:

‘Combat Champion’ – Jim White was not present to accept his award, but before moving to Michigan last year, he downed enough foam to be our combat champion. We miss you Jim! Here’s hoping you can make it down once or twice this year for a visit and to remind everyone how it is done!

‘Modeler of the Year’ - Vern Holman’s continual flow of new foam models, along with the

‘President’s Award’ – This award went to Allie Dewey. Allie must have been in the wrong place at

the wrong time when her dad decided to bring her along to clean out our damaged porta-let.

However, she went WAY BEYOND the call of duty and helped with the spraying out of a rather nasty mess at the local ‘Spray-n-Wash’.

Thanks Allie – and next time hide from dad when he asks if you would like to help with something at the field!!!

charge on starting to get things planned. If you would like to help with the planning, please let us know. And it is not too early to August 17 th-18th on your calendars. Come out and give it a try!

That is about all I have this month. Our next club meeting is scheduled for 7:00 PM, Tuesday, March 5th at TGI Friday’s (dinner at 6:00). We have a lot of great things on the calendar for 2013, so as the planning enters full-swing, please stop in and help us make this season even better than last!

Joe Lang

Allie Dewey receives the President's Award.

Congratulations to all of this year’s award winners!

At our last club meeting, the club approved hosting a pattern event again this year.

Personally, I think this is great news. In all previous years, we have had good attendance, made a few bucks for the club, and have had nothing but positive feedback on our facility and membership.

This year our hope is to make it even better with more participation from our membership. Our 2013 event will feature the addition of a “Club Class” which will feature a simple routine that can be flown with any airplane. This will be a great way to come out and experience pattern flying with no additional investment. Who knows? You may decide you like it! I had a lot of doubts the first year I flew pattern, but quickly realized that there were a couple of great benefits including meeting a bunch of new people, watching some very skilled pilots, and becoming a better overall pilot myself. There is also potential that we will have a bit of sponsorship to help out this year – more good PR for our club! Jim Fassino and Bob Wilson have been leading the

photo clearly shows a scantily clad woman, several sets of footprints and our club facility in the background.

How do you explain this, and who are these people?

Signed, Penelope Goodbody, President, Chillicothe-Neighborhood Watch Dear Ms Goodbody,

DEAR AMELIA These are the rantings of ghost-writer Roger Stegall taking the pen name of “Dear Amelia�. Other than the physical copying from one medium to another, the editor takes no responsibility in the blasphemy and lunacy herein expressed.

Dear Amelia, There have been rumors of secretive and nefarious nocturnal activities at our flying field for quite some time. This has been evidenced by discarded...ah...accouterments, trash and alcoholic beverage bottles. In the past, however, this seems only to be endemic during the summer months. Now, a brazen group of hardy individuals appears to be using our facility in the midst of winter...and during the day!

Evidence for this suddenly appeared on our Facebook page in the form of a photo. This

Are you sure that the posted winter picture you referenced was not a personal photo you had taken in an effort to gain more exposure for those watching in your neighborhood? I checked the mounted wild-game camera at the field but could find no recorded images of wild games going on, unless you count the occasional making of snow angels and yellow snow. You are correct that there has been an up-tick of February activity from guys throwing a Fling and flying F22 Raptors. The saying that "Fast Is Never Fast Enough" has energized some of your cohorts to insist on propelling their foam jet designs to reach Tract-9 Speeds (9 times the speed of a tractor). Nobody knows where this lust for speed will end but there is already mounting evidence that pushing the foam envelope will yield a mountain of foam particles.

Sincerely, Amelia Airhead - I like fast men as long as I can finish first Dear Amelia, The Bagel Biters are supposed to meet at Paneras once a week to talk about airplanes and RC flying.

Problem is, many of the overage and out of shape

retirees take the opportunity to ogle the many babes that stop for coffee on their way to the office. One customer in particular, known only as “Big Red”, sets these geriatric trolls to howling at the moon when she stops in for her morning oatmeal and coffee.

I, for one, am embarrassed by such rude behavior but don't really know how to make my objections known.

Can you give me some direction in this matter?

Sincerely, Seeking an Ogeless Bagel Experience Dear Mr. Ogleless I believe your Bagel Biter group needs to take a course in sensitivity training, but I could say that for about any group of men who hang around establishments where the price of coffee is the same as a gallon of gas. Many guys consider the escalated price of their java as part of a covercharge for the privilege to enjoy the scenery while testing the capacity of their bladders. If it wasn't Big Red and the way she shakes her sugar on the oatmeal, it would be some other poor lass and the method a napkin is folded. You men are a pretty hopeless lot in that you need some unattainable goal to pursue so that you don't have to take responsibility for a failed effort. If you feel embarrassed by your wanton friends, perhaps you should join the men's group seeking the preservation of white orchids. Second thought, they're wired with the same DNA as your hopeless buddies. I would suggest you rent another cup of Hazelnut and direct the conversation to a different unattainable goal -like flying a descent F3A pattern.

Sincerely, Amelia Airhead - A well practiced sugar shaker

Conversation overheard on the VHF Guard (emergency) frequency 121.5 MHz while flying from Europe to Dubai.

Iranian Air Defense Site: “Unknown aircraft, you are in Iranian airspace.

Identify yourself.”

Aircraft: “This is a United States aircraft. I am in Iraqi airspace.”

Iranian Air Defense Site: “You are in Iranian airspace. If you do not depart our airspace we will launch interceptor aircraft!”

Aircraft: “This is a United States Marine Corps FA-18 fighter. Send 'em up, I'll wait!”

Iranian Air Defense Site: Silence.

CLUB PHOTOS

This is a photo of Jim Fassino's Antoinette during the scale competition at EFest.

The “Chummers” Nick and Bryan, at the club banquet

Jim's fleet of airplanes at EFest.

Iron Man at Efest